Milker&#39;s tail-clamp.



W. H. OSTRANDER.

MILKER'S TAIL CLAMP.

VAPPLIOATION mum DBO. 21, 1909.

7 594; Patented Mar. 21, 1911. I

Jnue/zfqr' I @7713 1 031M14 WILLIS H. OSTRANDER, OF PARADISE,CALIFORNIA.

MILKERS TAIL-CLAMP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 21, 1909.

Patented Mar. 21, 1911. Serial No. 534,358.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIS H. OSTRANDER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Paradise, in the county of Butte and State of California,have invented new and useful Improvements in Milkers Tail-Clamps, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a device for holding the tails of cows whilebeing milked to prevent their striking the milker in the face.

It consists of a hinged clamp adapted to grip the tail of the cow, andin conjunction therewith of a curved elastic yoke which will fit aroundthe animals leg at a point just above the hook joint; a latching deviceintermediate of the two enables the operator to immediately apply orremove the device at will.

The invention also comprises a combination of parts, and details ofconstruction which will be more fully explained by reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of theinvention. Fig. 2 is a detail of the spring latch, in inverted plan.Fig. 3 is another form of the invention.

During the operation of milking cows by hand, the milker is oftenseriously annoyed and punished about the head and face by the whippingof the animals tail in its effort to dislodge flies and insects. It isfor the purpose of protecting the milker that I have devised the presentinvention.

A is an elastic yoke, which may be made of wire or other suitablematerial, and having such a curvature that it is easily slipped uponthat portion of the hind leg of the cow which is just above the hookjoint, and being thus attached it will hold the device in place by itselasticity.

The device may be made of twisted wire, as shown, and at one end of thisyoke portion it is coiled, as shown at 2, and from this point forms anupward extension 3 which is again coiled about a transverse bar or pin4, thence extending upwardly, the bight of the upwardly extendingportion forms one side 5 of a stationary holding jaw. The other movingside 6 is curved in the opposite direction, the two sides presentingtheir concaved faces toward each other, and the extension 6 is coiledaround the pin 4, as shown at 6*, thence it extends downwardly formingan arm extension 6 This extension is adapted to engage a latching device7 This device may be made by bending one of the wires between theportions 2 and 3 of the yoke extension so as to form a loop 8, and theend of the arm 6 may be bent so as to engage this loop, the wires beingsufiiciently elastic to allow the engaging portion to be readily sprungaway to be disengaged, as shown in Fig. 3. In another form, the portion2 of the yoke is coiled once or twice around a horizontal pin 9 similarto that shown at 4, and the latch consists of wires bentto form anengagement for the end of the arm 6 The latch portion is spring-actuatedso that by pulling it down against the spring 10, the end of the arm 6may be made to engage with the opening formed between the wires.

The operation would then be as follows: The jaws 5 and 6 being opened orseparated by moving the arm 6 backwardly, the end of the animals tailmay be gripped between the aws, the arm 6 then being pushed intoengagement with the latch 7 will hold it firmly. It is then onlynecessary to slip the loop A over the animals leg above the hook joint,when the tail will be held and prevented from such motion as will annoythe milker.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is- An improved animal tail-holding device consisting ofa pair of opposed jaws formed of bent and twisted wires, one of saidjaws having an arm extension and an intermediate coil, a pin aroundwhich the coil is turnable, a fixed jaw opposed to the first-named jawhaving a portion coiled around the pin, an extension corresponding withand forming a prolongation of the arm of the firstnamed jaw, and acurved open-sided elastic In testimony whereof I have hereunto set yokehaving one portlon connecting with my hand 1n the presence of twosubscrlblng sald arm and another portion adapted to wltnesses.

clasp the leg of the animal, and a latching WILLIS H. OSTRANDER. deviceadapted to engage the movable arm WVitnesses:

of the first-named jaw after the tail has been W. (J. SMITH,

gripped between the jaws. WM. S. KERR.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

